Cat problem

[Hillbilly]

We have two cats who don't cause any problems whatsoever with the chooks.

However, a black cat by the name of Charlie has, since he moved into area with his owners a while back, killed 3 of our quail , spent most of the spring digging up my veg patch, terrorising our cats, using our cat flap to come in and steal any food laying about and was caught last night by DH DIGGING its way into the chook run to get at them!! Now the chicken wire goes down about 6 inches but its not going to take him long to get that far down. I possibly should have run the wire across the bottom of the cage too but then the chooks wouldn't be able to dig either - and they do love a good dust bowl.

What can I do to discourage this cat? Its owners are not the approachable type and to be honest, they'd not be able to do much anyway - cats don't listen to reason.

Any ideas? I had a look at the fox thread and we have done the male pee thing but no effect.

[Boots]

Hi Jo,
Probably better an ally than an enemy. I'd just feed it.

Solve his problem and you may well solve yours.

[Bee]

Hi there, I'm afraid I can't advise on the chook attack or coming into the house (my parents have the same problem), but we've used dead bits of wood and sticks laid across the veg patch to stop the cats digging it up, along with some mesh wire laid across the seeded area with rocks on either side to hold it down. This seems to keep the cats off as they seem to like the bare earth to dig in. Once everything is more established you shouldn't have so much of a problem. You could also try planting prickly plants round the edge of the bed - the cats never go near our roses. I'm sure other more experienced gardeners have some better tips but that's what's worked for us. Good luck!

[eeksypeeksy]

Has anyone tried anything like one of these "ScareCrow® automatic outdoor animal deterrent" things? I would think the worst they could do is add a little extra water to the garden.

What they claim:

Using the ScareCrow is easy. Simply attach a standard garden hose to its base, set the ScareCrow in the ground in the area you want to protect, and then turn on the water. Once you switch the unit on, it is ready to go.

How does it work?

The ScareCrow uses a combination of sudden noise, unexpected movement, and a startling blast of water to create a memorable and unpleasant experience for the trespasser.

The animal immediately associates this unpleasant experience with the location, and to avoid similar surprises, learns to avoid the area. If an animal chooses to return, the ScareCrow will be waiting.

While a human may flee several steps after activating a ScareCrow, animals are typically affected to a much greater degree. In most cases they run much farther, and stay away longer. Because the unit only triggers when the animal moves, its behaviour is difficult for animals to anticipate, making it a very effective deterrent.

[gunners71uk]

i can give ideas but they may offend some people
1 get a dog
2 put barbed wire in the ground(if this is legal i dont know)
3 get a water pistol super soaker
4 inform the owners
5 have you a good cockrel
6 geese will sort it
7 look for some cat recipes lol
some of these are humourous you decide and check out the legalitys lol

[ina]

Actually - I was just going to suggest barbed wire, and gunners beat me to it... However, I wouldn't dig it in, I would put it just a bit above ground around the cage, where he is digging. Electric fencing wuold probably work, too - but that's a bit expensive!

There are commercial smelly cat deterrents, too - I have never tried them, so can't comment on them. So far I've been lucky with my cat and the ones in the neighbourhood... Although I do cover most of my veggie bed, at least as long as the seedling are very small, to prevent Frankie from using it as an outdoor loo!

[albert onglebod]

You could lay a few pieces of corrugated iron all around the run to keep it off the chooks.
I use bits of wire over my newly seeded beds.They are straight pieces about 12" long and about 2mm thick.Old knitting needles would do,I put them in at angles so there is a criss cross over the seeds.
A water pistol is good if you are about when he starts on your cats.We had this with our cat a little while ago when 2 Toms moved into the area. Every time I heard the yowling start up,I went out and gave them a good squirt.
You can get cat flaps that have a magnet device in,your cat has a magnet in its collar and only he can get through the flap.

[Millymollymandy]

That's a brave cat. How big are your chickens and how many do you have? Cockerels? A cat would be mad to try to get in amongst them. I've seen my hens attack my cat when she got in their run - don't think she'll be trying that one again!

[Hillbilly]

Oh thanks all! Brilliant replies and a lot of help.

After some discussion I think we are actually going for the electric fence idea to stop it going at the chooks. MMM - 3 x Bovans Nera and 4 x Light Sussex - no cockerels - not a good idea where we live - though we are thinking about buying one of mates 308 girlie's - the Mike Tyson of the chicken world which even I am scared of.

The veg - might go with the strips of chicken wire for that one.

Which leaves the cat flap. Neither of our two wear collars and I wouldnt like them to TBH so magnetic cat flap good idea but not workable so will sit in kitchen and arm myself with a super soaker and just wait, sniper style...

So thanks all - problem hopefully solved.

[Ranter]

albert wrote:

You can get cat flaps that have a magnet device in,your cat has a magnet in its collar and only he can get through the flap.

If only,
A tomcat kitten moved in next door to me & was soon much bigger than my adult cat. As it's owner & I looked after each other's cats during holidays, it was quite comfortable with me. It wasn't put off by the magnet cat flap. He just scratched & scrabbled at it until it gave way. It's now completely broken & I've had to tape down the catch so it functions as an ordinary catflap.

Squirting him with water got rid of him at the time, but didn't stop him coming back. My cat had a bout of cystitis, apparently caused by stress.

The monster tomcat is called Elvis & has now left the building (& the area, his owner moved away).

[Camile]

Hi Hillbilly,

Have you tried putting some pepper powder all around the chicken coop and veg patch .. it's suppose to detter them ...

Good luck ...
Camile

[eeksypeeksy]

I like cats a lot, but I like *my* cats much more than I like other cats. If a strange cat bothers my cats, it gets whatever I can give it. So...

Squirt it. Belt it with a broom. Throw things at it. Take pictures of it to show the owners -- maybe they can do something (keep it in at night? get it fixed? send it to anger management training? chicken aversion therapy?).

Trap it. Use a nice trap, of course, but trap it and take it back to the owner. "Is this yours? I caught it trying to have a go at our chickens. Here are pictures of it in action."

Get a dog. If you get it as a puppy, it shouldn't bother your cats, but it will scare hell out of other cats. Even a little cat-sized dog is good for scaring off cats and other intruders.

As for protecting the chickens, wire the whole thing -- top, sides, and bottom -- so the entire run is a caged-in box. Now sink the caged run X inches into the ground so there is a layer of dirt on the floor for scratching but no way to dig into (or out of!) the run. How deep you make it depends on how deep chickens like to scratch. Ask the chickens, I guess.

[Camile]

Hi again ..

But it's weird that the cats are going for the chicks ...

Because I owned 3 cats and there are about 6 wild cats living in the barn behind us ... and they don't bother whatsoever our hens ..

If you feed these wild cats ... the hens goes and have their share of food ...

So try feeding him as well .. because I doubt he goes for the chickens just for the fun ... it make sense to me that he attacked the quails because they are so small ... and I wouldn't trust my cats with quails either ..

Good luck once more,
Camile